Scaffold bracket assembly for concrete forms



April 14, 1959 s. A. McHALAK :TAL 2,382,101

` scAFFoLD-BRACKET ASSEMBLY FOR CONCRETE FORMS Fild Fb. 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 la 4\ 34 ,/f r y 26 :I

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` INVENTORS:

STANLEY A. MICHALAK April 14, 1959 s. A. MICHALAK ETAL 2,882,101

SCAEFOLD BRACKET ASSEMBLY FOR` CONCRETE FORMS Filed Feb. 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2` A lNvNToRs: STANLEY A. MICHALAK C I l 84 Jo N IMNETTI nited States Patent SCAFFLD BRACKET ASSEMBLY FOR `CN'CRETE FORMS Stanley A. Michalak, Des Plaines, and John E. Imouetti, Chicago, Ill., assi'gnors to Symons Clamp & Mfg. Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application February 25, 1957', Serial No. 642,178

1 Claim. (Cl. 304-14) The present invention relates to scatfolding and more particularly to a new and improved scatfold bracket assembly designed for use in supporting c fonventionall wooden scaffold planks in position on the outside of a concrete form installation at any desired elevation thereon.

It is among the principal objects of the invention to provide a scalold bracket assembly which is extremely simple in its construction, involving as it does only three principal component parts, yet which, when operatively installed on a concrete form assembly, makes provision not only for effectively supporting the usual wooden scalfold planking in position on the form but also affords a guard or hand rail support above the level of the planking and on the outside edge thereof.

An additional lobject of the invention is to provide a scalold bracket assembly of this character in which the component parts thereof are formed of steel for the sake of strength and rigidity and which may be attached to the form with which it is associated solely by the use of conventional concrete form hardware, thus eliminating the necessity for driving nails for attaching purposes or for using special tools in its installation.

Yet another object of the invention, in a bracket assembly of this character, is to provide a structure which is easily applicable to and removable from the form assembly and which, when removed, may be readily collapsed into a compact folded unit occupying small dimensions so that the, same may be easily transported from one installation to another for repeated use.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide a bracket assembly which may be used either with or Without its hand rail supporting component and which, when no hand rail is required, may be partially collapsed so that the hand rail supporting component is in an out-ofthe-way position where it does not interfere with the normal support for theV scaffold planking.

The provision of a bracket assembly which is comprised of a minimum number of relatively movable parts and which, therefore, is not likely to` get out of order; one which is rugged and durable and which, therefore, is possessed of a long life;v one which is attractive in its appearance and pleasing in its design; one which may be manufactured at a low cost, and one which otherwise is well adapted to perform the services required of it, are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will become more readily apparent as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown.

-In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a concrete form. installation to whichseveral of the bracket constructions of the present invention have been applied;

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Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail perspective view of a portion of a scaffold assembly illustrating the manner in which a plank retaining bracket or plate forming a part of the present invention is operatively applied to the planking;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the bracket assembly;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the plank-retaining bracket shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the collapsed bracket structure.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to Fig. l, scaffolding which has been designated in its entirety at 1i) is shown as being applied to a conventional wall form 12, the scatfolding 10 embodying a number of the brace constructions 14 which comprise the present invention. The disclosure of the wall form 12 is purely exemplary and the same involves in its general organization two series of upstanding edge-to-edge panels 16 arranged in spaced opposition to each other and defining therebetween a mold cavity into which concrete is poured for formation of a wall structure (not shown). Combination tie and spreader devices 17 of conventional design, serve to maintain the two series of panels in their operative spaced relationship. Reenforcing frames including vertical and horizontal members 18 and 20, respectively, serve to support the usual plywood panel facings 22 and, in combination with thesefacings, constitute the individual panel sections. The concrete form assembly 12 may, to a large degree, be supported on the usual ground foundation or base installation 24. The form assembly 12 briefly described above is purely conventional in its design and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated with the same, the novelty of the present invention residing rather in the construction, arrangement and combination of the individual brace assemblies 14 for supporting the scaffold plankng 26 and which will now be more fully described and claimed.

As best seen in Fig. 4, each brace assembly 14 involves in its general organization three principal structural parts, namely, a horizontal plank-supporting beam 30, an inclined supporting brace member 32 and an upright hand rail support 34, these three parts being pivotally connected together in tripod fashion at adjacent ends in a manner that will be set forth presently. The plank-supporting beam 30 is in the form of a Hat steel bar, the inner end of which is rounded as at 36 and the outer end of which may be rectilinear. A circular hole 38 is formed in the bar 30 adjacent its outer end by means of which this end of the bar may be attached to one of the vertical members 18, utilizing conventional concrete form hardware for this purpose, as, vfor example, conventional form-connecting bolts 40. A circular hole 42 is formed in the bar 30 adjacent its inner pivoted end and through which hole there extends a connecting bolt and nut assembly 44 of the self-locking type and by means of which the three parts 30, 32 and 34 are pivotally connected to one another.

The diagonal supporting brace member 32 is in the form of a channel member having side flanges 46 connected by an intermediate web portion 48. At the opposite ends of the member 32, the side flanges 46 are relieved as at 50 to provide a pair of oppositely extending attachment ears 50 and 54, respectively, and the ends of which may be rounded as at 56. Each ear is formed with a circular hole therethrough, the two holes being designated at 58 and 60, respectively. The hole 58 is designed for use in attaching the free outer end of the member 32 to one of the vertical members 18 of the form assembly 12, utilizing. one of the form connecting bolt assemblies 40, while the hole 60 receives the bolt and nut assembly 44 therethrough when the member 32 is posihoned against the bar 30 with one face of the ear 54 bearmg against the opposed face of the bar 30 and with the flanges being directed outwardly away from the bar.

The hand rail support 34 is in the form of an elongated angle piece which is of Z-shape in cross sectional configuration, having a medial web portion 62 and oppositely extending lateral flanges 64 and 66, respectively, at the opposite edges of the web portion. An attachment hole 68 of circular design is formed in the web portion 62 adjacent the inner end of the angle piece and through whlch hole the nut and bolt assembly 44 passes, thereby pivotally connecting the member 34 to the two other members 30 and 32, respectively. A limit stop element whlch preferably is in the form of a separate lug 70 is secured as by welding at 72 to the inside face of the web portion 62 and underlies the lower edge of the planksupportmg bar 30 when the member 62 is in its substantrally vertical position of use. The lug 70 is adapted to bear against the underneath edge of the bar 30 and maintam the member 62 in its substantially vertical position against outward tilting movement when the parts are in therroperative position of use. Actually the lug 70 is so pos1t1oned on the end of the web portion 62 that when the hand rail supporting member 34 is erected for use 1t w1ll be inclined slightly outwardly from the outer face of the form assembly so that it assumes a degree of stableequilibriurn and will not have a tendency to collapse 1nwardly of the form assembly 10. The web portion 62 is formed at the outer end of the member 34 with an .mwardly extending rectangular slot 74, the width of wh1ch is slightly less than the width of the web portion the slot 74 being designed for reception thereon, edge wise, of a hand rail such as has been shown in dotted lines 1n Fig, 4 at 76 and which may consist of a length of convent1onal 2 X 4 lumber. The fact that the slot 741s of less width than the web portion 62 and is centered on the axis of the member 34 provides a pair of upstandlng angle-shaped retaining posts 78 possessing sufficient r1g1d1ty by virtue of its angle conguration to withstand all normal conditions of use and securely retain the hand rail in position within the slot 74 under the influence of gravity.

It is to be noted from an inspection of Fig. 6 that when the bracket structure 14 is in its collapsed condition, the various structural members 30, 32 and 34 are brought into parallelism and substantial contiguity with the bar 30 completely nested within the transverse connes of the ange 64 of the hand rail supporting member 34 and interposed between the web portions 62 and 48 of the members 32 and 34, respectively. The flange 64 also partially encompasses one of the flanges 46 of the member 32 so that the collapsed assembly as a whole occupies but little space insofar as its overall cross-sectional configuration is concerned. In order that the collapsed assembly may be maintained in its collapsed condition during shipping or the like, a series of small wire-receiving holes 79 are formed in the various members 30, 32 and 34 at the same radial distance from the pivotal axis of relative swinging movement of the members and these holes move into registry when the parts are collapsed. A wire 81 may be threaded through the holes 79 and twisted or otherwise tied to maintain the assembly collapsed.

The length of the various members 30, 32 and 34 will, of course, be proportioned to accommodate any desired or given installation. Ordinarily, the length of the bar 30 will be such that it may support three 2 x 8" planks arranged in substantial contiguity in edge-to-edge relation while the length of the diagonal brace member 32 will be such as to afford adequate support for the outer end of the plank supporting bar 30. The length of the hand rail supporting member 34 will be commensurate with conventional hand rail elevation.

Referring now to Figs. l and 3, it will be understood that a number of the brace assemblies 14 will be installed on the form assembly 10 at spaced regions therealong and at substantially the same elevation. The planking which has been designated in its entirety at 26 in Fig. l and which may consist, as stated above, of a number of individual planks 82, is supported on the upper edge of the horizontally disposed bar 30. In accordance with the usual custom, as shown at 84 in Fig. 3 the planking 26 is arranged in overlapping relation. In order to avoid the possible danger of upending of any of the planks due to the weight of a workman treading on the planks at a region of unstable leverage, the present invention contemplates the use of an attachment bracket (see also Fig. 5) in the form of a flat rectangular plate having communicating slots 92 and 94 formed therein and extending in parallelism. The slot 92 is of a length which is substantially equal to the vertical width of the plank-support-l ing bar 30 plus the thickness of a single plank 82 while the slot 94 is of a length substantially equal to the width of the bar 30 plus twice the thickness of one of the planks 82. The width of each slot is substantially equal to the thickness of the bar 30. In the use of the bracket 90 for holding a single plank against tilting movement on the bar 30, the slot 92 is received over the bar so that the upper region of the plate lies ush with an edge of the plank adjacent its end. Nails 94 are driven through small holes 96 formed in the upper region of the plate 90 and into the edge of the plank 82 so that the plank is firmly held against the bar 30. Additional plates 90 may be attached to the plank 82 at the region where it is supported on one or more of the bars 30 associated with remote brace assemblies 14 so that any weight applied to an otherwise unstable end of the plank will be resisted at some remote region along the plank. Where two plank,

thicknesses are concerned as shown at 86 in Fig. 5, the slot 94 is received over the bar 30 and the additional length afforded by the slot permits the nails 94 to be driven into the uppermost overlapping end region of the adjacent planks.

When the hand rail supporting member is not required in a particular installation, the same may be folded into the general plane of the plank-supporting bar 30 where it underlies the planking 26. The wire 81 may be employed to tie the member 34 in its out-of-the-way position.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example,

Vthe limit stop abutment 70 has been illustrated in Fig. 4

and described herein as being in the form of a separate lug, welded as at 72 to the end of the member 34. It is obvious that this limit stop may be in the form of an ear struck up from the proximate end of the web portion 62 and, in this form, it will serve the same function as the lug 70. Only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claim is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A collapsible scaifold-supporting bracket assembly for concrete wall forms comprising three elongated bar-like members pivotally connected together at one end of each member for relative swinging movement about a common pivotal axis, said members including a scaffold planksupporting beam, a supporting brace for said beam, and a hand rail support, the distal ends of said beam and supporting brace each being formed with an attachment opening therethrough whereby they may respectively be fxedly secured to the outer side of a concrete wall form at vertically spaced regions thereon with the beam extending substantially horizontally and with the supporting brace extending diagonally between the outermost pivoted end of the beam and the wall form so as to xedly support the pivoted end of the beam and hand rail support, said hand rail support being of Z-shape configuration in transverse cross section and having oppositely extending side anges and a medial connecting web portion, the distal end of said web portion being slotted inwardly to provide a cradle having side members which are of reenforced L-shaped cross section by virtue of said oppositely extending side anges, the cradle being designed for reception therein of a hand rail, a lug on said hand rail support and an abutment on one of said other bar-like members and engageable with said lug for maintaining the hand rail support in an approximately vertical position, said hand rail support being collapsible on the plank-supporting beam, and one of said side anges on said hand rail support being adapted to overlie the upper edge of said plank-supporting beam when thesupport is thus collapsed on the beam, whereby the support may be caused to assume an out-of-the-way position beneath the scaffold planking when its hand rail supporting function is not required.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 867,274 Humphries Oct. 1, 1907 980,532 Johnson Jan. 3, 1911 1,166,118 Faragher Dec. 28, 1915 1,662,667 Goldsboro Mar. 13, 1928 1,950,167 Epps Mar. 6, 1934 2,309,210 Phillips Jan. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 51,766 Switzerland Mar. 10, 1911 761,739 France Oct. 7, 1933 

